A Matter of Pride
by Skyward Princess of Time
Summary: Link has been acting strangely and Zelda is expecting the best...err…worst. Post TP, Zelink. Oneshot.


**I meant to write this up about a week ago. Then I received **_**A Link between Worlds**_** in the mail from my father, and, well… xD (I haven't quite finished it though, so I've been avoiding spoilers like the plague! xD)**

**Disclaimer: I don't own the Legend of Zelda. If I did… xD  
**"**A Matter of Pride" is rated "K+" for mild language and romantic themes.**

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_**A Matter of Pride  
**__A Legend of Zelda Fanfiction_

To say Link was acting strangely was the understatement of the century.

Zelda would know. She was only his beloved princess, for goddesses' sake. She didn't just mean that in a manservant/royalty relationship kind of way. True, Link was much more than the typical manservant—he was extremely proficient with a sword and quite handy with everyday chores, but when Zelda said she was Link's "beloved princess," she meant that in the _other _way. Very few people actually knew—she didn't like public displays of affection, she found them to be rather outlandish—but she and Link had been a so-called "item" for about three or so years now.

Three or so years? Try exactly three years, seventy two days, nine minutes, and thirty-two seconds. Zelda didn't remember the specific time so accurately because the date was so important to her, no, that wasn't it at all, she just…had a way with numbers. Yes. That was it. Link wasn't the most wonderful creature to walk Hyrule. Of course not. He wasn't some sort of god reborn with honey-wheat hair that sparkled in the golden sunlight and bright blue eyes more gorgeous and serene than Lake Hylia. Nope. He was a good man, there was no denying it, as he had previously almost single-handedly saved Hyrule—well, he wouldn't have done it without Zelda's help, but she supposed that was a relatively minor detail—but he was still just a man. A man who possessed flaws, like any man did. He was always sleeping and had his head in the clouds, not to mention he was hopelessly naïve. She tried to tell him until she was blue in the face that this was the real world, not the ideal world, but he stubbornly refused to believe her.

Yet…his flaws seemed so minor compared to other human beings. As a matter of fact, Zelda loved watching him sleep. He always had such an adora—_peaceful_—look on his face, as if he was a bird dancing among the clouds. Yes, Zelda knew her Link better than anyone else. She knew everything about him from the basic superficial things such as favorite food and color to his deepest fears and regret. And since she knew him so darn well…

…she knew when something was completely wrong.

After Link saved Hyrule, he returned to Ordon and resumed his ordinary life for about a year or so. Zelda tried to make him a captain in the royal army as he would be one thousand times better than those useless buffoons with pointy sticks, but he simply refused. Losing his traveling partner, Midna, was difficult on him. Zelda understood. She just wanted Link to know that Midna may be gone, but she'd always be there. She'd always be there for her dearly beloved. After she showed up uninvited on his doorstep to pressure him into becoming a captain and following her wishes, he finally conceded. It was shortly after that when they became a couple. While he didn't sleep in her bedchambers (unfortunately), he had a comfortable apartment over the stables where he could always smell the scent of hay he loved so much. On an ordinary day, Link would wake up whenever he so pleased (usually around noon, the lazy boy) and would take his best companion, a mare named Epona, for a morning ride. Then he'd stuff something into his mouth using rather unsightly manners, say a quick "yo" to Zelda as he bumbled off to work, and would work until night. They'd finally reunite for a pleasant dinner where Zelda ranted about the idiocies of politics and Link would always smile and nod, listening to every single word as if his life depended on it. Then they would spend every evening in eternal bliss, wrapped in each other's arms…

Zelda blushed, realizing how silly and hopelessly romantic her thoughts were becoming. She was Zelda, the Princess of Hyrule and the bearer of the Triforce of Wisdom. Her knowledge far exceeded any living creature, even the wisest of sages. She was above all this petty lovey-dovey crap.

_But the idea of being in Link's arms is just so snuggly and comfy…_

Zelda pinched the bridge of her nose in frustration. There was a saying that people often had a devil and an angel on their shoulders, always arguing about what to do. Well, instead of an angel and a devil, Zelda had a voice of reason and an inner fangirl. It was exasperating to say the least.

But for the past week, her beloved manservant was acting strange. He hadn't taken Epona for rides and more strangely, he barely said two words to Zelda. In the evening, when Zelda would beg—ask politely, of course, she wasn't that desperate—for him to never leave her side and come snuggle with her, he would give some half-assed excuse and mosey on out as if he was trying to avoid her. Not to mention, whenever he would give said half-assed excuse, he would bite his bottom lip ever-so-slightly, as if he was punishing himself for lying, as he always did when he told something completely and utterly false.

Why would he lie to her? Could he not tell her anything? Had she done something to upset him? No, surely she would have known…

The worry was driving her almost batty. She had to know. She just _had _to. If she spent one more night alone she was going to burn the stables down and blame it on Epona.

As she was so riddled with an awful combination of fear and longing, Zelda turned to the last person she would ever want to ask for advice…Link's childhood girlfriend (Link insisted that nothing romantic ever happened between them, but Zelda was no oblivious fool) Ilia. It pained her to ask a rival for romantic advice—as much as Ilia would never admit it, she was still obviously filled with jealously because Zelda stole "her" man—but Zelda didn't know who else to turn to. The other protectors of Hyrule were either old, male, or Ashei. Don't get her wrong, Zelda loved the female warrior, but she wasn't exactly, well, feminine. Relationships didn't seem to be her strong point, as even Link realized Shad had a crush on her and that was _really_ saying something. And there was Telma, but…she always changed the subject to Renaldo, which was not really the type of conversation Zelda was going for.

So, that brought her back to Ilia. She invited Ilia into her innermost sanctuary so no one would hear that the Princess of Hyrule had such trivial worries, bribed her with the best cup of tea she could find, and blurted out her situation. She was expecting Ilia would laugh and say _"oh, he's like that because he's cheating on you. Cheating on you with me, of course!" _so she had prepared a large hammer and had her royal sword so she could make Link's death swift and Ilia's death slow and painful. However, much to her surprise, Ilia only laughed and gave her a genuine wink.

"_Zelda. You're three years into your relationship! You say he's going off by himself, is telling you little white lies and avoiding you? The signs are obvious! He's trying to figure out how to propose, silly!"_

Propose. Link wanted to _propose_.

Zelda was happy, of course. She was even willing to admit that she was ecstatic. Of course she wanted Link to be her king. Then they would have all the late night cuddles Zelda wanted. Link was the only man in Hyrule Zelda could actually stand for such an extended and permanent period of time. They'd make beautiful future heirs of Hyrule, if she may say so for herself.

Apparently her inner fangirl was winning again. While she was filled with joy at the very thought of being married to such a man, she still had a reputation to uphold. She was Zelda, Princess of Hyrule and the smartest woman in the world. She was known for being a bit of an "Ice Princess," who exacted strict—but always fair—decisions without so much as a smile on her face. If the public knew she let some manservant, no matter how noble and what his technical rank was, propose to her, it could very well destroy the image she worked so hard to uphold. She didn't want her people to think she was some giggling girl. Not at all.

But, still, she _did _want to marry Link. Quite a conundrum, this was.

Fast forward to her current situation.

After coughing twice in front of her council and claiming she was "deathly ill," Princess Zelda donned her mysterious cloak and stalked Link through his morning activities. Since the silly boy woke up late, he'd been training new recruits all day. No action so far. But much to Zelda's relief—she was getting very impatient and frustrated that the new recruits were so pathetic—it was lunch time. Surely Link would disappear, just like he had for the past week. Sure enough, as the bell rang indicating lunch, Link said another obviously fake white lie and excused himself.

Link was on the move! Zelda couldn't follow him too closely, as his senses were much, much sharper than the average man or even her own, so she kept a safe distance as she darted in and out behind trees. At one point she embarrassingly smacked face-first into an unsuspecting tree as she tripped over a root with an obnoxiously loud _thud_, but much to her surprise, Link didn't notice. Huh. And the strange behavior continued to get stranger. The Link she knew surely would have picked up on something as obvious as that. Still, in order to regain her bearings and ease the throbbing in her nose, she lingered back for a moment as she watched him enter some sort of ominous looking cave near Kakariko Gorge.

Hell no. He better not be planning on proposing to her _there _of all places!

What sort of plebian would _dare_ take his precious master to such a damp, dark, and depressing place!? Zelda didn't care about being spotted anymore. She was going to confront him now, and that was that. She had planned to do it at a more opportune moment, but, well…

Zelda dashed into the cave, letting her radiant Triforce of Wisdom illuminate the way. She cringed at the sound of the Keese—she hated those damn things—and the scurrying of the mice. Unless you were some sort of strange cave abomination, _no one, _and she meant _no one_, would find this place even remotely appropriate to propose in.

In a way…it was almost charming. It was just like something Link would do.

Zelda shook her head again. Her inner fangirl was really being quite the pest.

Zelda frowned as she reached a fork in the road. Which way did Link go? She was about to focus her energies and search for his Triforce of Courage, but as she was mentally preparing herself, she heard the most _dreadful_ sound. It sounded like a cross between a Bokoblin meeting a rather unsavory death and the rumble of the earth as it periodically shook. Whoever—_whatever_—made that sound certainly didn't sound human. No, it would have to come from some terrible monster. Zelda's eyes widened as she realized what that meant.

_LINK!_

"Link!" She screamed, following the sound of the noise, not caring as she nearly lost her balance umpteen times as she ran, ran, _ran _as fast as she could. Sure, Link was proficient with a sword and Hyrule's best fighter, but…she worried about him. Was that such a crime?

"Zelda?"

Zelda breathed a sigh of relief that she unconsciously held back as she relished in the site of her beloved. His voice was a bit softer than usual and he was hunched over the side of a pit for some odd reason—he must have just sent the beast to its doom—but he seemed unharmed. Zelda didn't care if she looked ridiculous, tears of all things streaming down her face as relief sunk in, no one was here to see her. She threw herself at him, sobbing into his chainmail and clinging on to him tight. If she was in a more stable emotional state, she probably would have been perplexed by the fact that Link, Hero of Hyrule, was shaking. At that moment, it didn't matter. She never wanted to let him go. She never wanted him to fight. She never wanted him to get hurt. Never again.

"What are you doing here?" Her beloved certainly seemed surprised to see his princess in such a retched place.

His single, perfectly innocent, question reminded Zelda of her predicament. Regaining her sense of dignity, she abruptly stood, brown hair smacking Link in the face in the process, and looked down on him with her trademarked icy glance. She tossed one of her hair pieces behind her back and cleared her throat with a slight _ahem_.

"I should be asking what _you _are doing here. Why are you in such an awful place? This is certainly not a prime location." Yes. Her tone was perfect with just the right amount of a cool edge. She refused to look at his pure blue eyes—it was like looking at a puppy—and brought the hood of her coat up.

"A prime location?" While the answer was so typically Link, Zelda wanted to smack him for his eternal oblivion. Sure, he was a fool, but did he honestly think _she _was?

"Don't play dumb," Zelda snarled through grit teeth. Sure, he was adorable and she was honestly happy he wasn't hurt by the strange beastie, but she was angry at him too. Honestly. A cave! Who proposes in a cave!? "The aura here is not romantic in the least."

"Romantic?" Zelda didn't think it was possible, but Link sounded even more clueless than he normally did. Seriously, he better shape up real quick or Zelda was going to beat him upside the head with one of those damp rocks that were all over the cave.

"You're playing innocent, but it won't fool me. I'm not stupid, you know. I know what you've been up to, and I won't stand for it anymore. You have to do these things properly, and caves are hardly the ideal spot, especially with such horrible beasts around…" Zelda said that all quite fast and a bit rambly.

"Whoa, Zel," Link held up his hands as if to visibly brace himself for impact from her deadly scorn. "Slow down. First of all, what beasts? Other than a few Keese and some rats, it's perfectly safe in here."

Oh. As if that was no big deal. Besides, would a Keese or a rat really make that unbearable noise from earlier? Of course not. Who did he think he was fooling? Was he really trying to sell this place as some sort of steal honeymoon destination?

"There was this awful sound!" Zelda cried, still refusing to meet his glare, this time because she didn't want Link to see her flushed cheeks. "It didn't sound human! It was awful! I was afraid it would eat you! Not that I'm worried about you, because you can handle yourself, okay, maybe I am a bit worried, just a teensy bit, a _real _teensy bit, an _eensy-weensy_ teensy bit, but you cannot deny that this is a horrible location to propose to the woman of your dreams!"

Zelda said that last bit so loudly the echo seemed to bounce off of the cave for miles.

"Propose?" Link asked, mouth agape. "What do you mean, _propose_!?"

Now Zelda was truly furious with him and was losing the battle with her inner fangirl miserably. She was so glad that this goddess-awful dingy hellhole was devoid of other human activity, because her pride wouldn't be able to stand this. She was so, so, so, _pissed _at him for being so stupid and oblivious to an excellent woman's feelings that she almost didn't register Link's surprise at hearing the forbidden word _propose_.

What the hell was Zelda thinking!? How could she ever be so careless!? Now it was a perfect opportunity for Link to say something romantic and kiss her cheek, saying that he brought her hear because he wanted to let her know that he'd always protect her from the dangers and that she'd never be in trouble when he was around and…

Zelda shook her head furiously. No way. She had to stop this horse and carriage before her pride was scarred for eternity, and that was something she couldn't tolerate…

"What I mean is," Zelda said with a _harrumph _and at least outwardly regaining her composure. She reached her left hand down so it was right in front of his face, so close and so apparent than even Idiot Number One wouldn't miss the memo.

"I want you to marry me." Zelda turned around, still dangling her hand in front of his face and waiting for him to kiss it with glee. How did he like _them _apples!? That's right, Linky boy. No way in hell Zelda was letting you get the upper-hand in romanticism. No way were you gonna propose to something _this _spectacular. _No one_ proposed to Zelda. She was the Princess of Hyrule and she made these decisions, thank you very much. Of course, Link would scream that he would happily marry her and grovel at her feet, thanking her for letting such a lowly manservant like him to hold her hand in marriage.

Well, at least, that's how Zelda _thought _he would react. Instead, he burst out laughing.

Zelda frowned. How dare he!? How dare he laugh at such a marvelous and benevolent princess for offering every man's dream? She immediately scoured the place for the heaviest and sharpest rock she could find to clobber him. She was seriously debating whether sharper or heaver was better when she was caught off-guard by the horrible noise that scared the living daylights out of her earlier.

The beast! The beast was back!

_LINK!_

Zelda desperately glanced at her beloved when she saw Link's body heaving. He had one hand over his mouth and the other around his stomach. Zelda couldn't see his lips due to his hand being in the way, but she could see the pained expression in his eyes. That was when it dawned on her. There was no beastie. The one making those awful sounds was _Link_. That meant…

"Oh, sweetheart, you're ill," Zelda threw off her hood and knelt beside him, rubbing loving circles on his back. The horrendous noise was so painful to listen to that it even sent real shivers down her spine. All anger she had with him instantly vanished, as she was only concerned with health and wellbeing. She shushed him, kissing his hair and cuddling him close. As the fit seemed to grow worse and worse, Zelda started looking for the quickest way out of the cave when Link pushed her back. Zelda wanted to say something about how Link should never push her like that, she was only concerned about him, but no words came out when she realized he was violently retching over the side of the pit. Despite the precarious situation, a small smile escaped Zelda's lips. He pushed her back because he didn't want to get vomit on her. She supposed she could forgive him for a moment. When he was done, she pulled him in tight again, continuing to shush him gently until the atrocious time ended. He leaned against her for support, seemingly too weak to stand on his own power. Zelda kissed his hair, gently resting her head on his. She could feel his labored breathing against her chest and it truly pained her.

With two vicious coughs, Link finally gave a muffled chuckle. "That's what I get for teasing you, huh?" His voice, while hoarse, still retained its delicate playfulness that she adored so much. She wanted to scold him, to tell him never to be mean to her again, but he seemed so helplessly ill that she could only bring herself to kiss him again and again.

"I'm sorry," Link continued after another three of those retched coughs, "I know I've been acting strangely all week. I worried you, didn't I? I should have been honest with you. Maybe…maybe…maybe then you wouldn't have suffered."

Zelda wanted to agree, to tell him of course he made her worried and he was a silly, silly boy, but instead she only said "it's okay" in a soothing voice.

"I don't like being sick in front of people," Link confessed a bit sheepishly. "It makes me feel weak, y'know? So I've been coming to this cave to be sick by myself so I wouldn't worry anyone."

"You should never be sick alone," Zelda said quietly. "When we're sick, we need to be with family and loved ones. It really helps us get through the awful times. You should have told me. I would have gladly watched over you."

For a moment, neither of them spoke, relishing in the warm and caring embrace. His breathing seemed to improve and the chills that plagued his weary body subsided, so Zelda pulled him up so she could stare into his gorgeous blue eyes. He gave her a weak smile, rubbing her cheek fondly.

"So this is why people like to be coddled when they're sick," Link muttered with flush of pink hinting at the tips of his cheeks, a type of pink that wasn't caused by fever. "My parents died when I was really young, so, I guess…I guess I never really knew what family was like. The villagers always were great, but there's something…something so _precious _about familial love. I never really experienced that until now."

Zelda laughed, loving every bone of that hopelessly naïve idiot that always had his head above the clouds. "I'm not your mother, silly," she teased, nuzzling him and officially—happily—conceding the fight to her inner fangirl.

"No," Link agreed, tapping his nose with a look that said _"not sure you want to nuzzle right now, lovebug" _and kissed her cheek instead. "But you _are_ my wife. And a wife, of course, is family."

"Your wife?" Zelda asked, a bit perplexed, as she completely and utterly forgot the reason she wandered into this awful cavern in the first place.

"You did ask me to marry you, didn't you?"

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**Just a little quick oneshot! I don't normally write TP Zelink, so it was fun.**

**I am beyond exhausted (not to mention pretty sick myself, hence this idea xD) and really shouldn't be up late writing this. I am 100% certain that this is riddled with errors, but when an idea hits, you take advantage of it. xD **

**Please leave a review! It would make my day! **

**Happy New Year! :D**


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